The Best Homemade Falafels

Traditional restaurant style falafels — made at home! These falafel patties are super easy to make at home and are loaded with traditional flavors like sesame seeds, tons of parsley and a hint of cumin. Stop paying for falafels when you can make them at home!

Homemade Falafels. That’s it, scroll to the bottom, grab the recipe, make them. Goodbye, so long, farewell! Okay, just kidding. This isn’t really goodbye. But you don’t need me to say much more when homemade falafels are involved. The urge to make them kinda just rises inside all on it’s own.

So did you watch it? The Super Bowl. What did you eat? I hope chips and guac were part of your Sunday. What did you think of the halftime show? Am I the only one that thought it wasn’t all that? Yeah, seriously. I kinda thought Katy Perry was better last year.

Moving along.

Calling all falafel lovers. Is there anyone not answering this call? ???? I used to be from your lot <– and by your ‘lot’ I mean I wasn’t always all on board with the falafel train. But before you give a loud gasp — let me say that before some time ago, I had never really had great falafel. And by great I mean, falafel that I didn’t have to wash down with a large bottle of coke because it was so dry it could cause my esophagus to explode. But then just like that the world righted itself one day, and another falafel lover was born. ❤️❤️

I’ve just been waiting for the right time to share my falafel recipe with you. A big chickpea fritter loaded with flavor and completely meatless. And when I say waiting, I seriously mean that i’ve been hoarding and borderline over recipe-testing them to make them beyond perfect for you. But really, we all know it’s because I can’t get off the falafel train.

Loaded with onions, garlic, parsley, chickpeas, and hints of cumin, coriander, and cayenne. These falafels gives you a little teeny tiny kick in the rear that just heats things up a tad bit. And it’s as simple as tossing a bunch of ingredients into the food processor and pressing a button to give it a good whirl. I seriously debated on calling this a spicy falafel recipe, but in the end I decided against it as it’s easily customizable from both heat lovers and non heat lovers alike.

And about those chickpeas. The actual ???????????????????? of the show. If you wanted to make falafels today, you need to have soaked the chickpeas last night. Um.. so a good 12-24 hour soak is mandatory. Sorry to break it to you friends. But good things are worth the wait, AMIRIGHT?

BUT. Before you go running off on me, let me say that though this recipe requires a little preplanning, the rest of the recipe is super easy to put together. As in blend –> make patties –> fry them off in a skillet with just a bit of oil. I’ve made baked falafels before but really, sometimes (in moderation) the real thing is what you really need. But! Instead of deep frying these guys, i’m making patties out of them and frying them in a skillet which kinda in my brain means they soak up less oil. I’m telling myself that and don’t you let me think about it any other way!

And while we’re on the subject of patties, you don’t have to make them flat the way I did. You can make them in the traditional round hushpuppy-like shape if you wish. But a major benefit of making patties is that it’s super easy to stuff them in naans to make falafel naan-wiches. And I’ve got a buddha bowl salad that features these falafels coming up too.

Come on, go soak those garbanzo beans!

Yield: 16 falafel patties

The Best Homemade Falafels

Prep Time:10 mins (not including soak time)

Cook Time:30 mins

Total Time:40 mins

Traditional restaurant style falafels — made at home! These falafel patties are super easy to make at home and are loaded with traditional flavors like sesame seeds, tons of parsley and a hint of cumin. Stop paying for falafels when you can make them at home!

Directions:

Drain the garbanzo beans from the water and dry them completely. You can do this on a kitchen towel by giving them a good wipe down.

Transfer the garbanzo beans along with the rest of the ingredients except the sesame seeds and flour to a food processor. Pulse the mixture until it breaks down (see pictures for consistency). You don’t want it to become a paste. You want it to still have tiny chunks of chickpeas running through.

Transfer the falafel mixture to a bowl, add the sesame seeds, and start by adding 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir to combine. Try to form patties (or balls) with the mixture. If the mixture doesn’t hold it’s shape, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes before forming patties or balls. I shaped mine into patties that were about 1 ¼ inch in diameter.

Heat an inch of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. I suggest using a skillet because it reduces the chances of the falafel patties breaking(*see notes). When the oil is warm, place 4-6 patties into the oil at a time, depending on the size of the skillet. Do not overcrowd the pan as it will become very difficult to turn the patties. Let the falafel cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Depending on the size of your patty, you may need more or less time. It’s always good to do a test patty, taste to make sure it’s cooked through and adjusting the time as needed.

Notes:

I actually really like cilantro so I did 50% parsley and 50% cilantro for my falafels. You can use all parsley or cilantro or a good combination of the two. This is totally up to you.

The cayenne powder is kind of optional – if you don’t want any heat at all, feel free to leave it out completely!

You can deep fry the falafels if you wish, you’ll need a slotted spoon to aid in lowering the falafel patties (or balls) into the hot oil so the oil doesn’t splatter.

I haven’t tried using this recipe to bake the falafels. For best results, I suggest following the recipe as written.

Love this recipe?

Have you made this recipe? Take a picture and share it on Instagram using the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR. I love seeing your delicious creations!

3.3.3077

IS THIS A GOOD CHOICE FOR YOU?

*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients i’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional info is for one falafel patty.*

These were amazing! I didn’t have coriander so I used curry powder instead and it they were still delicious! I’ve recently became vegetarian and been looking for different recipes to not get bored, and these did not disappoint! My boyfriend, who is a big foodie, said to make these more often! Thank you!

I made these exactly as directed and I thought they were OK–definitely a step above mediocre, but not even close to the spectacular, falafel-in-the-sky I was hoping for from a made-from-scratch recipe. They were a bit tough on the outside after frying (as I find with many falafel, both from restaurants and from the prepackaged mix), rather than very light and crispy as I’d hoped, and the flavour was good but not exceptional. Personal preference but I also prefer a moister centre for falafel, which can apparently be more easily created using fava beans instead of chickpeas, I’ve just discovered.

Hey! U are so right about the fava beans. I’m Egyptian/Lebanese and here in egypt we believe that we made the original falafel (or taameya as Egyptians call it). Anyway in egypt we use fava beans for the traditional recipe other middle eastern countries use the garbanzo beans. So I’d definitely say try them with the fava beans they’ll be lighter and way more delicious :)))

This was truly a great recipe. I’ve been trying to get the perfect falafel recipe for 10 plus year and finally nailed it with this recipe. I made some modifications though. In addition to the ingredients listed above, I used…1/2 cup of packed cilantro, 4 tablespoons of garbanzo bean flour and I fried them in grape seed oil.

Very well written recipe, with good
Explanation plus the notes.
As far as a sauce to compliment the falafel, a good home made tahina sauce, is generally what has been used in the Middle East, Mediterranean area.Lydia

I’m going to try this tonight. Do you know the quantity of already soaked beans? I didn’t measure them earlier when I started them soaking. Also how do you feel about fresh mint or basil with the parsley?

Hi Jen, they’ll double in size when soaked so my best guess is 2 cups, the actual amount may vary as i’ve never soaked and then measured. Fresh mint sounds like a great addition. Basil isn’t traditionally used in falafel but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be delicious! 🙂 Hope you enjoy the falafel!

I made these with 50/50 parsley and cilantro and made some adjustments for the spices and used a little less garlic. I also added spelt four instead of all-purpuse.Instead of frying I brished them with olive oil and baked for about 15 minutes, fiipped them and baked for an extra 10 minutes or so. They held together and were quite crispy on the outside. Next time I’ll make them a little taller so the have a little more of the soft middle.Thanks for sharing.